From Gymnastics To Figure Competitions: New WBFF Pro Alina Andrews

WBFF Pro Alina Andrews Interview

New WBFF Pro Alina Andrews has been involved in sports her entire life, with her talents first taking her to acrobatics. At an early age she represented her country in the national team, later went on to winning Miss Galaxy Universe, to turning pro in the WBFF; clearly this was the start of something big for this tremendous athlete.

Recently, I had the honor to interview Alina about going pro and what the future holds for this incredible champion.

Bodybuilding Blogger: Alina, your level of fitness is really impressive. So what got you started in acrobatics and fitness?

Alina Andrews: Thank you Marco, I have been involved in the sport since I was 5 years old quickly advancing until I was 12 when I was chosen to compete for my national acrobatics team Belarus.

Bodybuilding Blogger: What motivated you to get into fitness & figure competitions?

Alina Andrews: In 2012 a good friend of mine signed up for the Miami Pro Championship and suggested I do the same. I needed no persuasion and was immediately interested, must have been my winning instinct coming through!

With over 6 months until the competition I was in no rush and my training progression was slow. Then with just 2 months left the reality hit home and I knew it was time to switch it up a gear. I changed my life straight away and trained twice a day every day, focusing on nothing else but winning the competition. I also completely changed my diet analyzing and understanding everything that I put into my mouth.

Once the competition arrived I was in great shape and I took first place in the two categories I entered, Figure and Fitness Gymnastics.

From then on I was hooked and I trained for my next competition, this time learning more and more about nutrition and techniques focused around physical appearance as opposed to performance.

The next competition that came up was Miss Galaxy Universe which took place in Birmingham later that year. Taking first place again in the fitness category it was clear that my training was working and there was no looking back.

Bodybuilding Blogger: It’s amazing to see how much you progressed. As a successful gymnastics champion, fitness model, and WBFF Pro, what do you attribute your success to?

Alina Andrews: This has to be my desire to win and to be the best! I’ve always had it in me; I even love to compete with myself! It doesn’t matter what I am doing I love the challenge and becoming the best just motivates me every day. Without this desire I don’t think anyone can truly be their best.

Bodybuilding Blogger: Excellent! Can you tell us about your training philosophy?

Alina Andrews: Learn to understand your body and learn to push yourself more and more, every day. Overall though you must have fun. Remember why you are doing this; you will be surprised how much motivation it will give you.

Bodybuilding Blogger: So true and great advice, what’s your workout regimen been like?

Alina Andrews: For me cardio is extremely important. I’ve done a lot all my life so my body is used to it, meaning I have to do more and more to keep pushing myself.

Once that is out of the way I get started on working every part of my body. I favor high rep workouts over high weight but that’s just because it works best for me. I like to think that I don’t have any limits and if my trainer tells me to do 100 reps I will do 300 just to prove I can!

Here’s a short video clip with some training and posing:

Bodybuilding Blogger: Nice! With a busy schedule with training, coaching, photo shoots not to mention preparing for competitions, how do you stay on track with your nutrition on and off season?

Alina Andrews: Nutrition is a lifestyle for me so I never think of it as a chore. I also never worry about it taking time to prepare my meals. It doesn’t matter if I’m on or off season, I will always plan ahead and prepare. I think the key for me was learning so much about my body and how it reacts to different food, this has made it great fun and I feel like I am always learning.

Bodybuilding Blogger: Let’s talk about cardio. What type works best for you and how is it different during off-season compared to pre-contest?

Alina Andrews: For me running is best. I don’t enjoy it and it’s not fun but the rewards are good so I dig deep and keep at it. I think that it’s the shaking when running that helps but whatever the reason it gives me great tone.

I also do a gymnastics session twice a week. This is great for core strength and flexibility but there is also a lot of cardio there. The advantage of this is its actually great fun too, definitely recommended for anyone that hasn’t tried it.

Overall my training split is 2 parts weights to 1 part cardio. Although I keep the intensity high on the weight training so the heart is beating fast and it’s effectively more cardio.

Bodybuilding Blogger: Now that’s a serious training regimen! What was it like earning your WBFF Pro card? Is there an upcoming show you plan to compete in?

Alina Andrews: It was a great achievement for me and I was filled with joy. I felt like all my hard work had paid off and it gave me great energy to look for my next challenge. The WBFF is a great organization and it feels amazing to be part of their elite group of Pro athletes. The whole show is not only a huge challenge but it is immense fun and I will definitely be back to win the WBFF World Championships in Las Vegas 2013.

Bodybuilding Blogger: If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring figure pro, what would it be?

Alina Andrews: Never give up! This is your life and you CAN do anything. Make your dreams come true, they are yours if you really want them.

Bodybuilding Blogger: Alina, thank you so much for sharing your time with us and for being such an inspiring and motivating athlete.

Bodybuilding Blogger.com wants to personally thank our good friend Alina Andrews for this interview. She is an energetic, outgoing, driven, dedicated athlete and coach with a focus on helping others become the best they can be. You can connect with Alina on Facebook, Alina’s web site, plus view her pics on our Facebook fan page Bodybuilding Worldwide.